Back in 1994 Bazirake was the head of a well known family in Gisenyi. His brother was Ngeze Hassan, a journalist who has since been charged with war crimes in the Arusha ICTR proceedings. Bazirake hid Tutsis in his house and took them to Goma during the spring nights of genocide. Because his brother had a reputation as a rabid Hutu nationalist Bazirake was himself not suspected of pro-Tutsi sympathies. He and others in his family used their Datsin pickup truck to hide Tutsis. He hid the Tutsis in barrels or underneath much sand that that was shoveled on top of them. Most of those who were rescued were Tutsi Muslims.Why did he do it, risking his own family in the process? All of those people he helped were human beings, just like himself, he said. Hadj Bazirake said there were others who rescued Tutsis in the Gizenyi area, especially Muslims, but he could not remember any by name.

What are his feelings now about gacaca? Quite positive, with some reservations. “In gacaca courts, every Thursday they are used to testify about what people saw and what they did. The courts are very helpful. Millions of people were involved in the genocide — that’s why gacaca could help people and bring them to unity and reconciliation. The sinner should ask for forgiveness and pay back what he had stolen.